“Over a hundred of these fringe protest groups coalesced, as they so often do, into a confused mêlée of conflicting special interests,” reported Yiannopoulos. “They were united, however, in the sheer nastiness with which they expressed their views. To give but one example — as pilgrims sang “Hallelujah”, “Long Live the Pope!” and Benedicto!” demonstrators responded with shrieks of “Nazis!” and “Padophiles, watch out children!”

“So much for the inclusive tolerance trumpeted by the Left,” writes Yiannopolos. ”Here in Madrid was its real face: a sneering, violent mob of self-righteous bullies who thought it appropriate to hurl abuse at children for the crime of having pride in their faith and being excited about by a visit from the Holy Father.”

This week there will be no posts here at T&P. At home, we are preparing for Pope Benedict’s arrival in Madrid for the WYD 2011.

More than 1 million and a half are to arrive this week to celebrate this great event for all the Catholics. There are people from India, Yemen, Ethiopia, Poland, USA, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, Chile, Mexico, etc, etc. The organization has even scheduled events regarding religious persecution with both a photo-exhibit and some speeches by people who have suffered persecution.

Because what the country needs is really more Islamism, more religious extremism and more persecution against non-Muslims:

The imam of Islamabad’s famous Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) has accused the government of “corrupting the country”. He has called on the “soldiers of Islam” to fight “to create an Islamic nation” where “Sharia laws can be enforced”. Mullah Abdul Aziz’s threats are raising concerns in a country where minorities are already victimised and the central government is hostage to fundamentalist fringes. In July 2007, the Lal Masjid was the scene of a gun battle between extremist militants and Pakistani soldiers that caused more than a hundred dead. Meanwhile, the Christian community is preparing for Minorities Day, tomorrow, which was established by the late Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic government minister murdered on 2 March.

The Red Mosque leader blames the Pakistani government for not imposing “Islamic laws in the country,” of polluting it “with corruption” and inviting “the wrath of Allah by allowing the Americans to continue the drone attacks” that “kill our Muslim brothers”.

“It`s time for us, the soldiers of Islam, to take a stand against this government and reclaim the Islamic Pakistan,” he said. For that purpose, “I already have over 5,000 students” and “we will use every means possible to make Pakistan an Islamic state” in which Sharia is enforced.

Yeah, soldiers of Islam, blablablablahhhh. This macho-soldier of Allah was captured, when the Lal Masjid’s revolt 4 years ago, fleeing the mosque in a burqa! These guys are so ridiculous, that if they didn’t cause so much trouble and death, they would serve for the perfect Marx brothers’ comedy… :lol:

A 26-year-old German-Turkish citizen charged with plotting an attack with explosives on U.S. installations in Germany and attempting to recruit al-Qaida supporters over the Internet is standing trial in Frankfurt.

Prosecutor Michael Bruns told a court Friday at the opening of the trial that the man, identified only as Adnan V. had planned a “seriously threatening violent attack.”

Bruns says the suspect had collected small amounts of explosives and instructions for making a bomb at his home in nearby Offenbach, where he was arrested in October 2009.

Bruns says the suspect was planning to “kill innocent people that he viewed as ‘unbelievers.'”

The suspect made no statement to the court. His trial continues Aug. 19.

London, Aug 13 (ANI): A suspected terrorist has been granted bail in Britain after he claimed in black and white that he had changed his mind on terrorism.

The Algerian, who can be identified only as “U”, was detained in 2001 after arriving in Britain from Afghanistan in 1999.

“U” has been officially classified as an “active terrorist head of a group of individuals in the UK with an international reach”, and MI5 believe that he had direct links to killed al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden and other terrorists who had planned to bomb Strasbourg Cathedral in France and Los Angeles Airport.

British lawmakers have termed the decision as “insane”, while a terror expert called it “worrying”.

The New York Times, citing classified intelligence documents and unnamed officials, reports that terrorist operatives have been making efforts to buy large quantities of castor beans – which contain the toxic ricin protein – and shift them to a remote tribal area controlled by insurgents for processing.

Ricin is so poisonous that inhalation of a few minute grains is enough to kill an adult. It was used in deadly incidents including the 1978 assassination in London of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov and, in 2002, was the subject of a bioterrorism scare in the UK capital following a police raid on a facility said to be plotting its manufacture.

US officials are reported to have told Mr Obama that an attack is not imminent and that the terrorist arm has yet to formulate a means for dispersing it as a weapon.

They believe that the ultimate goal is to find an effective means of packing the white powder around explosives and detonating the devices in packed public areas such as shopping malls and airports, the New York Times revealed.

Twelve heavily armed suspected Taliban militants barged into the residence of an American national and kidnapped him in the wee hours today after overpowering his guards in Pakistan”s Punjab provincial capital.

About a dozen armed men entered the house of Warren Weinstein in Block J of Model Town neighbourhood at 3:30 am and took him away after overpowering his four guards, police spokesman Niyab Haider Naqvi told PTI.

The kidnappers bundled Weinstein into a vehicle and took him to an unknown location, Naqvi said.

Other officials, who did not want to be identified, said they suspected the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was behind the abduction.

US Embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez confirmed that an American citizen had been kidnapped but declined to identify him.

“He was working for a private company. We are working with Pakistani authorities on the issue,” Rodriguez said.

Security guards at the American”s residence were preparing for ”sehri”, the pre-dawn meal in the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, when the kidnappers struck.